Invicta
by SamanthaTL
Summary: Post-MJ. Peeta and Gale lead the last group of survivors in defiance of the Capitol and during the reign of mutts. Besides regularly dealing with monsters and the government, Peeta is faced one day with something peculiar that accidentally falls from the sky.
1. Quatuordecim

**A/N: Post Mockingjay. While I was driving one day I started to make a music video to Radioactive by Imagine Dragons in my head. The characters magically transformed into Katniss, Peeta et al, and the idea grew out of control until I have a beginning, a scattered middle, and an ending to a story.**

**Rated M for Mature: badass Peeta, violence, sex, gore, fluff, rock & roll, language is bad and modern, other bad & disturbing things in general, yadidadida, and I will be making stuff up/tweaking things along the way. I'll be leaning on fantasy alot in this one.**

**The updates between chapters may be close or far in between. **

**Disclaimer: All Suzanne Collins'. Just borrowing her characters again. Sorry Suzie.**

* * *

_**Invicta **(Latin): Unconquered  
_

* * *

They float.

Weightless and free, the seeds of dandelion disperse in a frenzy of summer winds. Wisps of cotton-like weeds waltz under the afternoon sun, mingling in an aggressive breeze that picks up strands of Katniss' hair. As she squints to glance at Peeta sitting across on the grass and enjoying the sandwich she made for him, a circle of floating dandelion almost looks like a soft halo over his head.

They have been spending many afternoons together like this on the only patch of grass in the district near a pond that dwindles into a slim stream. Katniss comes at precisely twelve-fifteen with a picnic basket and a blanket and marks their green spot in the middle of whirling, busy crowds.

Peeta slows down devouring his lunch as he realizes she's been staring at him through shrunken eyes, so his eyes shrink back at her. Chewing on bread and ham, his lips slowly turn up into a closed smile.

But Katniss keeps a straight face, transfixed by a small streak of mustard that has dripped down Peeta's chin. "You have a…," she starts but doesn't finish, gesturing at her own chin.

One of Peeta's eyes flinch and the smile he was sporting disappears into a line. "I have what?", he asks with his mouth full. Another round of fuzzy dandelion hovers between them.

Before Katniss is aware of what she is doing, she untangles her legs and puts her weight on her knees to crawl towards him, closing the distance between them. She kisses his chin much to his delight, timidly licking the mustard off his skin.

"I'm sorry!" Katniss surprises herself when she realizes what she's doing and backs off.

Peeta tries his best not to wink. "I wasn't stopping you."

He resumes chewing the rest of his food and mentally counts the small freckles on her cheeks. He suddenly finds the situation unnecessarily tense, but he remains silent and stands up, dusting himself clean of bread crumbs.

He picks up his blue construction kit containing a hammer, a small saw and a paintbrush, not tearing his eyes off of her.

It has been a year after the war and the fall of President Snow. The population of District Twelve has significantly decreased by more than half until they are down to their last one hundred citizens. A few of the survivors have fallen into depression, some have turned ill, but most refuse to be defeated by the ill circumstance of their lives. The mayor of District Twelve has declared it mandatory for all boys and girls starting at the age of seventeen to participate in the major rebuild project of the village. Once a month the citizens meet in the town square to be appointed a task and a location.

This month Peeta is appointed in the Hob. As part of a group, he will be working on the interior walls; taking down what little remains of the old structure, forming the new foundation and painting it. Katniss hates what she thinks is a special treatment from the mayor's office. Bearing the title of the Mockingjay and the saving grace of Panem, she is relieved of any duty in the reconstruction project and will only assist in distributing refreshments and snacks to workers, travelling to different stations.

One of Peeta's feet is poised to leave but the rest of his body turns back towards Katniss, diving low on the grass to meet her at eye-level.

"Thank you for visiting me," he says, then pauses to kiss her lightly on the cheek. "And for bringing me lunch," he continues, kissing her forehead. "And for being the best thing that's ever happened to me all day," he finally kisses her on the lips.

Katniss is quick to laugh as soon as Peeta plucks his lips off of hers. "Is it that terrible?"

He sighs as he looks at his construction kit for an answer.

It swings slightly as his shoulders shrug. "I miss baking. My rolling pin has been replaced by a hammer." He checks his knees for grass stains as he stands back upright.

Katniss giggles as she places a hand to cover her eyes against the blast of sunshine coming down directly from above them. The winds continue to tug and push, making the loose waves of hair whip against her face.

"Only for now. One day it will be the bakery's turn to be rebuilt from scratch."

Peeta smiles, wincing at her from underneath long blond lashes. "Can you call the market and ask if they have any stock of flour left? Also some sugar. I finally got the oven to work again."

"Sure. Anything else?" she asks.

"I love you."

He is not expecting her to say it back, so he turns around and finally walks away, making a bee line across the small field and onto the rugged, upturned road laden with rocks and debris. She sighs as she watches the back of his head disappear into a crowd filing up to work on their stations.

* * *

It's two in the morning and it seems like he's been running for miles.

He desperately scours through his bedroom in the dark, blindly reaching out for any items and shoving them in a backpack. He could barely see, his heart is racing, and he's rapidly collecting bruises from banging into furniture and walls.

The whole district has slipped into a pitch-black state. Random power lines have been taken down and the main generator in the Capitol which supplies electricity to the rest of Panem has been damaged. And most alarmingly, there have been sightings of bizarre creatures materializing from underground, long limbs with sharp claws forcing their way out of sewage lines.

District Two was the first area to experience the deadly and unannounced outbreak of mutts. They were the rejected product of a ceased operation resulting in a long line of failed experiments by the Capitol. It was an attempt for defense when the war between Snow and the districts from over a year ago was only brewing. As soon as Snow was overthrown from his rule, the half-functioning and barely breathing mutts were dumped strategically in the vast area beneath the Capitol that branches out to the nearest district, which further splits into smaller pathways to the rest of Panem.

Little did the scientists who were involved in the creation conspiracy know that the mutts they have genetically engineered would survive in an erroneous condition, and evolve into something bigger, uglier, and exponentially more vicious.

A news team from District 1 tried to inform citizens through a cloaked channel with poor reception before the power lines went down. They have defiantly pulled off a forced broadcast to the rest of the country at the strike of nightfall despite Capitol's warning to keep quiet about the outbreak. They rode on high hopes and mainly word of mouth if the broadcast was not able to reach every household.

The news report was not fully effective, and the people who caught the news have scrambled and fled their villages unprepared, clueless about which direction they should take. But on their way to escaping from the inevitable wrath, most were outnumbered and ultimately massacred, leaving their possessions littered on the streets which were painted with their own blood.

The mutts have been moving southwest from the Capitol, reaching District 11 in four hours and in scattered hordes.

Peeta has no patience for the rest of the staircase and jumps down five steps prematurely, landing awkwardly on one foot and slamming his side onto the floor. Through the walls of his house he hears a symphony of shrieks; a mixture of noise inflicted by agony and the howling of mutts, making him think twice about stepping outside. In the dark and now sporting a number of bruises, he is able to duck into the kitchen to grab a butcher knife. His heart is now beating in his throat as something heavy hits the roof of his Victor House, followed by ear-piercing scratches. He wraps his trembling hands around the door knob and pushes it open, and starts to panic when he realizes that he couldn't.

With the bag secured on his back, he looks to the window for escape. The mutt that was trying to pound through the roof has now descended to the second floor of the house as Peeta listens to his furniture being thrown across the hallway. He hops onto the window ledge and falls gracelessly into a rose bush on the other side, cursing in pain as he is pricked by thorns and then twists his ankle. But what he sees just outside his door makes him curl inward from repulsion.

The bodies of a mother and her two teen-aged children are piled up on his doormat, unrecognizable from pools of blood caused by head wounds, flesh carved out of their faces and torso. A torn limb dangles from the doorknob. Peeta allocates a moment aside to realize that the family was trying to get inside his house for help before he lets out a throaty, terrified scream.

He scampers to find his legs, but it feels like they are locked into the ground.

He is breathless by the time he passes by Katniss' house and spots her running across the front lawn. She catches up with him with nothing but clothes on her back and a bow and arrow hanging from her shoulder.

"Peeta!" she yelps as a greeting, both relieved to see each other. "We have to go to Thirteen!"

They bolt through the narrow, deserted streets, relying on their night vision and the scant moon light to guide them. Katniss swiftly positions the bow in her hands, her killer instinct driven by survival.

Peeta's chest is beginning to sting as he pants. "What if the mutts are already there, Katniss?," he asks skeptically.

"Thirteen has shelters underground," she pauses as they jump in unison over corpses lying face down on the ground. A few feet away from them is a large hole dug up from underneath. She almost tears up, already feeling defeated. "I don't know. It looks like we'll be running for a while then, Peeta."

They're not aware of the speed they have picked up the more they feel surrounded by the caterwauls of the dying from far off distances. Overwhelmed by fear their minds blank out, fuelled by the need to run and nothing else.

Katniss regains consciousness on reality when she notices Peeta has started to lag behind.

He stops running to clutch his chest, watching her screech to a halt and whip around with a frightened look on her face. He studies her and he could swear her mouth is forming to say something, but he doesn't hear her voice at all. As soon as she takes a step towards him, the ground begins to shake violently.

Katniss falls on her knees, magnetized to the earth as Peeta fights his way against gravity to close all the space between them, draping himself protectively over her. She could feel his heart beating wild against her back, his hands keeping a death grip on her arms.

The earthquake is extensive and harsh and Peeta is starting to feel nauseous from the consistent fluctuation of the ground. He is almost expecting it to crack open and consume them whole, but it doesn't. To avoid vomiting, he detaches from Katniss and attempts to stand upright, his hands flying up to hold his head from spinning.

He finds himself distracted by Katniss' bow neglected on the ground, fixated at its design and the woodwork of the handle. Just then he perks up at a distant shrill, a harrowing noise that sounds like death plummeting from miles above. He squints at a dot in the night sky that appears to have long, wide wings, its silhouette imprinted against the pale white of the moon.

He gasps as he realizes the winged mutt is zooming in on him, all the while confused for he is incapable of making out its appearance. It crashes into him, its mouth latching on to Peeta's left arm, its sharp teeth sinking into his flesh. Peeta growls in response and uses his right arm to lock around the head of the mutt and squeezes it tight to bring the creature down, hanging on for dear life when the mutt begins to sway sideways in an attempt to loosen itself from Peeta's grasp.

He is lifted up along with the mutt while the strong earthquake continues below them, and in a singular moment when his life begins to flash in pictures, he thinks of dying. He thinks of Katniss, and he thinks of his family that the war took away from him.

The mutt roars, ending the short series of his depressive thoughts. He swings his legs upwards, proceeding to wrap them around the mutt's long neck. He struggles with balance as he straddles the creature that still has his one arm in a bloody lock. He reaches into his backpack desperate to yank out his knife, slicing his fingers in the process, and raises it high. The mutt roars again as he stabs the top of its head once, twice. Three times.

It gives a little fight and finally lets his arm go before gravity claims both of them, the winged mutt dropping lifeless on the ground that has not stopped convulsing. Peeta lands shoulder first and rolls away, glancing at the bite mark on his arm and nearly passing out at the sight. He swallows a lump in his throat and looks up only to find Katniss laying unconscious several feet away from him. Shivers run down his spine as another winged mutt looms over her, its wings spread open as if ready for flight. One of its feet is resting on top of her, its big claws slowly closing in around her.

The slightest reaction from Peeta when he tries to stand up results to the urgent flapping of the mutt's pointed wings, dragging away Katniss trapped within its claws as it successfully takes off in flight.

"NO!" Peeta shouts after the mutt as he stumbles his way across, the earthquake finally starting to subside. "Katniss!"

He hops in wide strides but his legs protest, folding in at the knees before he collapses. He chokes out bits of blood, twisting his neck amidst the pain so he could look while the mutt captures Katniss. "No...no…no…" he whispers to the dirt, noticing her bow at an arm's reach. "Katniss!" He is dumbfounded, immobile and drunk with fear.

His fingers stretch, almost reaching the handle of the bow. Everything has slowed in motion except the beating of his heart. Many minutes pass, and through the glaze over his eyes he sees long slim legs of an animal. He recognizes a set of hooves and lets out a loud groan. His eyes roll up automatically and his face screws in confusion.

"Peeta Mellark. You look like death," her voice is casual and cool like water.

He grimaces in pain as he forces himself up to face the rider of the horse. He seems unsure of the steadiness of the ground, as if it would start rattling again any second.

"After all I've seen, death would bring a great relief," he says, wiping his blood-covered arm on his shirt and glancing at the dead winged mutt. He bends over to pull his weapon out of its skull. "You've come from a long way, Enobaria."

She shows her jagged teeth, granting him a smile as her horse tries to toss her off. She reaches out to scratch the back of its ear while trying to keep a firm grip on the rope around its neck. "Throngs of mutts have broken out from underneath the Capitol. They're unstoppable, and very hungry."

Peeta looks annoyed and has had enough of the conversation. "Yeah I caught wind of that sometime tonight. Tell me something new."

"Grab a horse."

One of his eyebrows shoots up. "What?"

Just then, he turns towards the rumble of an unmistakable stampede from the north, horses of different sizes and speed coming down spooked and rushed. Enobaria lifts up the rope from her horse's neck and gathers it into a loop, targeting a horse that has pulled away from the group. She struggles seeing in the dark and huffs as she flings the rope and lassoes the horse, pulling it close towards her. She hops off her horse and offers one to Peeta.

"Now get out of here!," she commands him sternly. Peeta can't keep his head still as he places a hand on the horse and leans for support.

"Can't. Katniss…"

The light from the moon is giving Enobaria's eyes an eerie sparkle.

"She's gone Peeta. The Capitol took her. They caught and programmed flying mutts to capture all the remaining victors from the Games so they could house Panem's strongest now that they're in isolation."

Peeta doesn't hide how severely disoriented he is. He shakes his head. "What do you mean the Capitol is in isolation? What are you talking about?"

"They're out to get _us_!" her calm demeanor is now replaced with dread, her arm stretching to gesture at the sky behind Peeta. His face slowly falls into comprehension and disbelief that things could possibly turn even worse than it already is. He almost refuses to look back at what Enobaria is pointing to, her hand trembling high up in the air.

He takes in a sharp breath before he angles his head to glance over his shoulder and realizes he doesn't have to trace her finger's trail.

Suspended in the sky and nearly covering the moon, Capitol has managed to detach itself from the ground and cowardly ascend five hundred miles into safety. Even though his mind is cloudy, he links the separation of the city from mainland Panem to the large-scale earthquake. Rocks, earth and trees fall majestically off the edges of the city, polishing itself up smooth around the corners.

And then it floats.

And it moves, unhurried, crawling inches across the space in the low heavens.

Peeta is agape, having a hard time wrapping the concept around his head. His hatred for Capitol escalates within seconds.

"If that's the case, I will gladly let them get me too," he tells her, fist full of determination.

"You're not chucking yourself up there, Mellark."

"Leave me alone," he says as he frantically looks for anything that resembles a rope on the ground. "They have Katniss. I need to get her back…"

Enobaria gives him a look as if he has gone mad. "I gave you a horse, not Pegasus."

Peeta scans the horse, getting it acquainted to his touch. His next concern is figuring out how to climb it. "So how do you plan to save your life, Enobaria? Where are you heading to?"

"We'll ride past Thirteen until we hit a dense jungle. Everybody is heading there."

He considers her suggestion and then shrugs it away because all he could think of is Katniss. There is submission and defeat that is apparent in his undertone. "That's uncharted territory. Risky but probably makes more sense than what I'm about to do."

Enobaria takes a cautious step closer to Peeta.

"You're diving in ass-first into the place people are trying to get out of! You can't go deeper into the country, the mutts have claimed it and your head will be bitten off!"

"Don't you see, Enobaria," he says, exhausted and in extreme hysterics. His voice has dropped an octave and the throbbing in his arm is branching out to the rest of his body. "We're all going to die."

Perhaps the light from the moon has completely disappeared, giving way for the dark to fully coat the village in black because Peeta doesn't see her left fist swinging in full force before it connects hard into his eye.

There is another layer added to the darkness and he sees nothing.

* * *

His eyes shoot open; the iciest pair of blue. Haunted but angelic. Long locks of his dirty blond hair are draped over his face, obstructing his field of vision. The sun is beating down his bare back, the long exposures to it adding a golden hint of colour to his skin.

He is pretending to be unconscious, laying on his stomach and one side of his face pressed against the grass. His arms are spread out, as if he is embracing the ground, one of them sporting a prominent scar. A mutt is stalking around him; its head resembling a wild boar with oversized tusks protruding from its mouth, its body the size of a lion with spikes running along the back. It wheezes as it eyes down Peeta.

He doesn't want to generate any movement to set off the mutt so he purses his lips to blow his hair over to get an idea of how far it is from targeting him. It angrily kicks back pebbles before it charges head-on towards him.

Inches from being mulled over, Peeta rises on his knees and stretches his arms out to grab the tusks of the mutt to hold it back. He digs his ankles into the dirt to counter the power of the mutt but it is heavy and strong, and it pushes him back until he feels air below him. He yelps as he falls seven feet off the edge of the tall, flat-topped rock structure, his back hitting the ground as he disturbs the layer of sand that makes his landing a bit bearable.

He doesn't move right away, and through the cloud of sand particles, he spots the boar mutt right above him jump off the edge as well, mimicking his trail. The faintest trace of fear crosses his face, but it is shrugged off as he reaches out to his side, picks up a long wooden stake, and positions it vertically on his chest.

The unsuspecting boar mutt is skewered through its stomach, squealing as it falls onto Peeta, its blood cascading through the large tear created by the sharp tip of the wooden stake. His hands tremble as he tries to carry the weight of the mutt through a stick, and when he couldn't any longer, he heaves and dumps it aside. The downrush of blood doesn't seem to bother him as he appears nonchalant, merely wiping the blood off his eyes and spitting out some that has managed to seep through his lips.

He stands and turns his head to look up where he fell off. People who have been watching the brawl from afar materialize one by one, their heads popping out and looking down at him with satisfied grins. Standing in the middle of the pit with blood dripping off his fingers and the tip of his nose, he gestures at the dead mutt.

"Looks like we're having a feast tonight."

That earns him a round of applause and causes excitement as the crowd cheers him on. Gale, now sporting long, matted dark brown hair and in nothing but muddied khaki pants, pushes his way to the edge and throws a rope down at Peeta so he can leave the pit. Two other men in the group jump in on cue to gather the remains of the mutt to be made into dinner.

Ten years have expired since the Capitol has physically separated and now hovers above Panem and away from danger. The number of survivors that have made it to the jungle beyond District Thirteen has drastically dwindled down to thirty-three, and this includes the past Hunger Games victors Johana, Enobaria, Haymitch and Beetee. The mutts have continued to flourish and evolve through the years, freely roaming the land, and the last thirty survivors have learned how to camouflage in the backdrop, living amongst and defending themselves from the monsters.

Peeta walks away from the clamouring around the meat and approaches a short wooden stand holding five torches blazing in the middle of the day. He gingerly picks one up and considers a pile of giant leaves sitting outside the entrance of a cave to rest in.

Before he is able to stretch out and luxuriate in a nap, he hears Gale calling him from afar.

"What are you wrestling with next, the great mutt beast of Opeongo island?" Gale asks, catching up to him.

Peeta's eyes shoot to the ground. "We could use some entertainment around here once in a while."

"Yeah I guess. And then there's always Annie's kid singing half-naked while bathing by the river."

Peeta chuckles at Gale's dismayed face and maintains the torch between them. Within ten years of living and maneuvering around the mutts, the survivors have learned that they are afraid of fire.

A strong gust of wind makes Gale panic and his hand naturally moves to cover the flame of the torch to keep it burning. They find themselves positioned under a wide shade created by the floating Capitol as it temporarily blocks the sun.

Gale and Peeta watch as a crumbled piece of paper flutters in the sky, trapped in a small vortex of wind until it finally gets spit out. Peeta looks down on it as it finally falls by his feet, thinking twice before picking it up. Seconds into opening the crumbled paper, he almost springs back as it comes to life, the paper starting to remove its own wrinkles.

"What kind of witchery..." Gale whispers as he leans in, amazed at the words in ink that start to appear slowly.

The paper now flattened and in mint condition, showcases a beautiful cursive writing, its background sparkling from weak silver dust.

"Capitol can't keep their trash to themselves now too," says Peeta, his hand flying to his chin to run through his stubble. His eyebrows furrow as he begins to read what is written on the paper.

_I am alive, but barely living._

_I am curious of other worlds._

_I watch from a distance._

Gale now mirrors the confusion on Peeta's face. He shrugs and deems the note unimportant, suggesting to Peeta that they should now set up the fire that will be used for cooking. He turns to look sideways to check for mutts before he leaves Peeta and the torch, running towards another torch stand. Peeta curls his fist in, enveloping the paper in his hand and looks up to the sky. He squints as brightness rushes into his eyes, the sun fully reappearing behind the grandeur of the Capitol.

Five hundred miles above she stands in a fenceless garden, on the very edge of the hanging city. Since her capture, the Capitol has subjected her to substandard operations to alter her physically and mentally. Her skin, once olive and freckly, is now porcelain white and spotless. Her eyelashes are twice the length, she has a diamond stud embedded near her lower lip, and her makeup is heavy and flawless. She wears a slinky long gown made of silk, its smooth texture emphasizing her curves. She feels the wind play with her straight brown hair as she is haunted with an odd kind of familiarity, of an old memory that is buried under shallow dreams.

She throws another crumbled piece of paper, not really aiming at anything, letting the winds take it. She switches on an insincere smile as she senses someone walking up to her from behind.

Effie appears on her left, her eyes overly joyful and full of red glitters that scatter out beyond her eyelids. The puffy material of her sleeves brushes up against Katniss' bare shoulders as she stands by her side.

"Here you are Katniss!" Effie chirps in her ears. "Your new bow has arrived. And I must say, the tips of the handle are exquisitely made in fine gold. Just divine!"

Katniss glances at her and quickly refocuses on gazing at the vast land below them. "Thanks Effie. I had been anticipating a new bow for the longest time. It will be utilized in my archery sessions."

Effie lifts a hand to wave an index finger. "It is a gift from President Paylor," she reminds Katniss.

"I am truly grateful," Katniss says blankly, her attention mostly on a flock of birds gliding across the lower sky. Effie catches her disinterest and clears her throat.

"Don't let your curiosity for the mainland distract your priorities."

"Pardon me?"

Effie sighs and suddenly sounds fatigued. "You're letting your emotions take you, darling."

Katniss prevents herself from stuttering. She was taught not to stutter. "I was just observing...I have always wondered if anyone else has survived the massacre years ago."

"Weren't you lucky and blessed to be saved. Even if a soul still breathes in that cursed place, you don't need to look down on them," the pitch in Effie's voice has flattened as she makes sure Katniss is looking at her. "They're already below you."

Effie moves to walk away from the edge of the city and leaves Katniss alone with a renewed sense of superiority. Katniss has her chin up and her lips curl into a malicious smile as she slightly begins to sway to an easterly wind, staring at a lone dandelion that has flown up too high.

* * *

_Shake me down, Not a lot of people left around_  
_Who knows now, Softly laying on the ground_

_In my life I have seen, People walk into the sea,_  
_Just to find memories, Plagued by constant misery,_  
_Their eyes cast down, Fixed upon the ground, Eyes cast down._

_I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun._

_-Shake Me Down, Cage the Elephant_


	2. Terra Nullius

_Terra nullius: No man's land_

* * *

The Capitol soldier looks unsure as he steps off the extended platform of the hovercraft, electrified when his foot finally makes contact with the steady ground of Panem mainland. Swaying trees and rustling bushes greet him, and he turns around to glance nervously at his partner before ducking further into the jungle beyond District Thirteen.

He is wearing a visor over his eyes, reaching to press button on the right side of the frame. An inflow of noise indicates that he is receiving communication from the hovercraft. Soon the right half of the visor blinks in red and yellow and a small screen materializes, glowing in static.

"You are doing great buddy," his partner's face is zoomed in on the screen as he cheers him on.

"The last time I checked, it's _your_ turn to be sacrificed in here today," the soldier hugs his laser gun close to his chest as twigs crack under his boots.

"It's not that bad. Just think of it like meeting an emo Tarzan in worn-out jeans," his partner says.

Big rocks sticking out of the muddy ground start to appear on the trail in front of the soldier, and as the rocks continue to add up and increase in size, so does the width of the shade provided by the statuesque trees above. Excruciating steps later the trail is gone and he is in the dead of the woods, windy and decorated with odd shadows and bizarre noises he can't quite categorize.

"Mellark is the last person I want to deal with today."

His heart skips a beat because suddenly the woods have fallen silent.

"My ears are burning," a voice flows, deep and groggy and trapped in a monotone. The soldier springs back and points his laser gun aimlessly at nothing. Somewhere in between the tangle of ivy and some nameless bush with small white flowers, the soldier spots the top of his scraggly blond hair.

"Alright. No funny business, Mellark."

Peeta pops his head above the leaves and squints at the Capitol soldier, piercing blue eyes wild and leery.

"What you got there?" he asks, not impressed. He manages to sound threatening.

The soldier ignores his question and slowly puts down his weapon. "President Paylor demands a trade. I have asked you to bring forth a supply of-"

"I don't like your laser guns. I told you that in the past two meetings," Peeta cuts him off; standing up from the rock he is perched on. Behind him is a torch bearing calm fire, stuck in a pile of rock structure he has built since him and Gale started to make trades with Capitol. He holds a spear in one hand and in the other, pinched between his thumb and index finger, a small white roll of stick that is emitting smoke. He lifts it to his lips and takes a sharp intake of air.

The soldier does not look amused and attempts to continue his statement in between a series of coughs from the pungent smell of the smoke.

"...bring forth a supply of meat, specifically chicken or quail, in exchange of new kitchenware, as per your request."

Peeta has fallen into a deep thought and shakes his head.

"We came up empty on our bird hunt. However we have caught a couple of boar mutts and that's what we are willing to negotiate with you."

The soldier pauses, listening to his partner on the small screen over his right eye. He nods and pulls the visor down under his chin.

"Boar meat is fine," the soldier complies. Desperation and lack of meat in Capitol have reduced the government to make random trips to mainland and mediate certain food supplies with the dwellers of the jungle. "I have the kitchenware for you back in the hovercraft base in the Capitol."

"...Oh so you don't even have it?"

"I was instructed to ensure you have the supply first."

"Finus. When did I ever trick you into an empty trade?" Peeta asks, a bit disheartened. "Don't you trust us groundfolks?"

"Are we continuing with our transaction or not?" the soldier asks impatiently, once again shrugging off questions.

"Hold the kitchenware," Peeta raises his hand holding the stick of smoke. "I want top quality sheets of cotton in exchange instead. Only for this time."

"Where's the meat, Mellark?"

He places the stick loosely between his lips and smiles. "I have the meat for you back in the cave."

The soldier sighs in frustration while his finger itches over the button of the laser gun. He's had enough of the conversation.

"In our next meeting I will bring sheets of cotton and you will not forget to bring the boar meat, do you understand? The failure of this negotiation will be reported to President Paylor immediately." The soldier says firmly and turns around in a huff, with an imaginary middle finger in the air.

* * *

The winged mutt swings its head sideways, playing with its trainer. Its drool slides from the sides of its mouth, teeth freshly sharpened; excited because there is a pole with long blue ribbons its trainer is dangling in front of its face. It has plenty of computer chips surgically embedded into its flesh. After all, the Capitol needs to control the dragons they capture and assign to be breathing weapons.

Katniss looks on at the military grounds of the Capitol, a bit nervous, mostly confused. Her golden bow and arrow are slung across her back and she is wearing the official Capitol gear for training. She approaches the playful winged mutt and as the trainer notices her, he steps aside to let her pet it.

Katniss does not remember much from her past. In fact, she prefers not to remember anything. She woke up one day without a trace of memory, sprawled across an uncomfortable metallic bed with tubes running in to and out of her temple. All she was told while she was drunk on drugs was that she was eighteen, a war just ended, her mother and the rest of her family were dead and sacrificed themselves for her safety, and the by-product of the war was the separation of the city from the rest of the districts on the ground. And that there are unthinkable monsters there that hide and prey on Capitol citizens.

Now, at twenty-eight, she is reserved, spoiled, and has an instilled air of supremacy.

The president has taken her under his wing, allowing her to live within the marble walls of the city hall. She is wired to think she is a strong warrior, designed to be part of the army. When she is not training, she is a socialite, appearing on magazine covers and is praised and featured on the news.

"Ugly thing," she shows affection towards the mutt as she gently rubs the top of its head. The mutt is enjoying the head rub and lowers its neck so it could receive more. "He's like a dog!" she proclaims to the trainer, delighted.

"We're not supposed to name the mutts, but I named him Dom anyway," the trainer leans in. "Please don't tell chief."

Katniss smiles at the trainer and watches him adjust the seat attached along the mutt's back. The crowd's attention moves to the front of the main assembly line, a small concrete platform big enough for two. A man in uniform steps forward and does not waste time, addressing the unsettled group in haste.

"There has been nuisance hashing in the mainland; intentional misunderstanding in trade matters between our negotiators and the groundfolks. Here in Capitol we live to eat lavishly and luxuriously. It is the Capitol's way of life. Unfortunately we have been running very low on precious meat and herbs that can only be harvested in certain parts of mainland Panem. But we all know what is concealed in the shadows of the mainland. Ravenous mutts. Rebellious groundfolks. They are uncivilized. They are killers. You were handpicked and summoned here by the President, to defend and serve the Capitol. Some of you will be appointed to defense posts, some will be aerial to monitor the skies, and the newest addition to the itinerary: some of you will be trained to hunt and descend to the mainland. We are working towards severing ties with the groundfolks. We want their harvest, but we refuse to provide them with goods manufactured here in the city. Good luck, servants of the Capitol."

Sergeant Ludus talks with heavy air of authority and urgency, and as quick as he took the podium, he disappears into the solid line of high-ranked staff behind him.

A young man standing by a well-behaved winged mutt that is donned in light armour catches Katniss' eye and winks at her. He has perfectly brushed-back black hair, clean-shaven, and deep, serious eyes, highlighted in dark tones. In a matter of seconds he has made it across the grounds and is pressing the side of his arm against hers. He schemes to drop a quick kiss on Katniss' cheek but she is elusive and coy.

"Hadrian. I propose a switch. Allow me to take your position of hunting in the mainland," she hums, trying to soften his edges.

"As long as I get to take you out for dinner tonight..." Hadrian is beaming. Katniss' lifts an eyebrow at him.

"I'm serious. I want to know what it's like inside Panem. I want to see a groundfolk..."

"Katniss. You make it sound like they're extra-terrestrial," Hadrian chuckles, showing off his perfect teeth. "They look just like us, but they are terrible at grooming."

Katniss is not ready to back down. "Please? Just for one day. The sergeant doesn't have to know. I will return your mutt all the way to its cage."

"Look, I don't ever want to get in trouble with my father. He will demote my ranking and have my head on a platter," he says flatly, his eyes giving off a mischievous glint. "Did you think being the sergeant's son is easy?"

He winks at her again before he turns on his heel to head back to his mutt, now napping at its station.

"There is a flying lesson in an hour. You're not invited."

Katniss mouths a 'thank you' to the back of his head.

She is supposed to administer a defense post on the north end.

* * *

Peeta makes his way through the arched entryway to a small room, merely covered by a thin curtain made of long, flat leaves glued together vertically. He is holding a cup of tea in one hand and a slice of cake in the other, finding the old woman sitting on the end of her bed immersed in her favourite book under candle light.

Outside, it's two in the afternoon.

Deep in the jungle and steps away from a winding river is a network of caves sparsely covered in moss. It camouflages well into the lush green of the woods, placed snugly in the middle of a clearing, bordered by towering evergreen trees. For ten years and counting, the groundfolks have made this massive cave their home.

One big boulder stretching five feet in length acts as the main door, and all over the exterior of the cave wall are circular windows; visible gaps in different sizes, carved out from the inside. Inside the cave are several rooms divided by rock walls, and there are two bigger common rooms that serve as dining room and living room. In the middle of the living room, sitting on a flat round rock is an oddity picked up floating on the surface of a small pond miles away from the cave one night; a cracked, glowing stalactite.

Its magnificent yellow glow illuminates the darkest crevices of the cave and no one dares touch it with bare hands, for they are afraid it might further crumble into pieces. There is a transparent slit along the three-foot long stalactite indicating the amount of substance left inside the object that enables it to radiate light.

Scattered in an orderly mess across surfaces of what they built as tables and shelves are random objects salvaged from the survivors' homes back in their districts. There are also the shinier, fancier things that have been exchanged with the Capitol such as plates, utensils, mirrors and personal items such as toothbrush and colourful soaps.

The group has realized the Capitol's blatant dependency on them to hunt and provide food items that are not available within a small vicinity of the floating city. Therefore the groundfolks have taken advantage of trading away their game in order to receive regular necessities and everyday items they do not have that comes with living in seclusion in an uncharted land.

The frail woman, the oldest member of the group who hails from District Ten, perks up at the sight of Peeta but brightens more upon seeing the steaming cup of tea he is setting on her table. She looks down at the cake disapprovingly.

"Come on grandma. I saved the last slice for you. Gale found out about my secret storage of goodies today."

"Why is this cake pink? And what are these shiny balls? Are these even edible?" she wrinkles her nose before she blows into the cup. "Fancy Capitolians," she adds with a hint of disgust.

Peeta rolls his eyes before he leans down and kisses her forehead.

"We won't have cake for a while so enjoy. Don't let Gale near it," he grins and takes the seat beside her. The old woman returns his smile.

Her name is Aurora and she has thinning white hair, deep wrinkles around her eyes, and a fighting spirit that still enables her to help out and do chores in the cave. The word is that back in the district, she lived in a farm with her daughter and a teenaged grandson who had the bluest eyes and ashen hair.

She developed slight dementia after turning seventy-five and has been confined strictly indoors by her daughter. During the night of the mutt attack, her grandson was able to take her all the way to the safe border of the jungle by means of a small family-owned horse and carriage. Late morning the next day, Enobaria and Johana Mason scouted the area and discovered the old woman shivering inside the severely damaged carriage, and her grandson and the horse were nowhere to be found.

There is a quiet rumour by the river bend that old woman Aurora is literally a bit extra-ordinary. When Enobaria detached a semi-conscious Peeta off from his horse after they reached the jungle that night, she feared for him and thought he was a lost cause, for he was barely breathing and badly reeling from hysterics.

Some who were able to witness it whisper that Aurora summoned red sparks that lingered in the air above Peeta until he snapped back into consciousness. That he was resurrected by a ghoulish chant derived from a dead language of a dead civilization, and it made Enobaria's hair along the back of her neck stand on end.

The bite mark on Peeta's arm courtesy of a winged mutt healed but left a horrid scar, his memory tattered and fleeting, his new purpose driven by a stubborn will to survive in the wild.

"You have always been the sweetest boy. Thank you for the tea," Aurora says, putting the book down and switching her attention to sewing an old dress which is riddled with dirt, holes and loose threads.

Due to her loss of cognitive ability she thinks Peeta is the last of her family, and at first he was more annoyed and confused than anything. It took a few years for him to warm up to a stranger who kept calling him her grandson. But he realized bit by bit the simple kindness of the old woman, and over the course of time he believes she's the only person who genuinely cared for him. He has since accepted the situation and treated Aurora like a dear grandmother, and took the responsibility of looking after her because her health is slowly faltering. He does not remember much of his real family except what Gale had told him, which is that the Mellarks used to own the only bakery in District Twelve and they all died during the war.

What Peeta missed from the rumour mill by the river bend is that his new grandmother, old woman Aurora, was an enigmatic priestess of dark magic, banished from land oceans away from Panem.

* * *

The deer acknowledges them, unassuming, too occupied with chewing grass.

Peeta balances a spear effortlessly, pointing at their potential dinner. Gale stands behind him holding a torch, complacent, and sighs right before he lifts a roll of smoking stick up to his lips. As Peeta quietly begins to move to pull his arm back so he could garner strength to throw the spear, Gale blows out a puff of air before he makes an announcement.

"I'm seeing Delly."

Peeta stumbles forward and the accuracy of his throw as he releases the spear is embarrassingly nonexistent. The deer jumps back, grass and everything in its mouth, and gallops away into the woods. Peeta frowns as they both watch the spear sit lonely on the ground.

"You are?" Peeta whips around and a slight look of hurt crosses his face.

"Yeah, dude, I know you've always had a little crush on Delly-"

"No I don't," Peeta denies it.

"—and you're not the type to admit it, but umm, Johana told me you're seeing her...so..."

Gale trails as Peeta leaves his side to pick up the spear. By the time he turns around to face Gale, he looks completely lost.

"Johana and I took a trip to Twelve to recover old house items. Just the two of us. I didn't think she'd call that a date," he pauses as he glances at a treetop, perking up as if remembering more. "I also taught her how to gut a fish. I guess that was a date as well..."

"She's got it pretty bad for you Peet," Gale smiles, secretly wanting approval to date Delly.

"Gale. You don't have to set me up with someone because you want to be with the person you mistakenly think I have a crush on," Peeta insists.

Gale looks like a deer caught in the headlights and stammers.

"Uhh…I just…no…I…I think Johana is a really sweet girl underneath all that spunk…"

Peeta chuckles as he reaches out to slap Gale's back and Gale nearly chokes on his stick. "She definitely is. Listen buddy, it's ok man. I wasn't planning to ask Delly out at all, and I sure as hell ain't her father to have to give you permission for anything."

Peeta is not sure if it's relief or plain joy, but he can't quite read Gale's face as his smile broadens even more. They silently agree to turn around and head back to the cave empty-handed, using the setting sun nestled behind the silhouette of a mountain as their cue to cease their hunting operation of the day.

Gale is about to declare Peeta as his best friend but they freeze on their tracks as leaves in front of them begin to rustle, and a squealing noise cuts through the quiet of the hunting grounds. Peeta points the spear ahead of them while Gale pushes the torch forward in anticipation of a mutt.

Enobaria springs out of the bushes bearing weapons pointing right back at Peeta, surprising herself and Johana who is following inches behind her. The rest of the group of women emerge and settle in the clearing where Peeta and Gale stand, trying to contain someone who is moving aggressively and creating a lot of disturbance in the middle of the circle.

Johana shakes her head in exasperation and disappears inside, and seconds after an obvious struggle she pops right back out while dragging a person with bound hands, flailing and screaming hateful words laced with restrained profanity. Both men react with furrowed eyebrows.

"…Wow. What is it?" Gale starts. Johana is irritated by the amount of noise the person is making while attempting to escape, and presses herself against them in an intimidating manner.

"We were knocking down pigeons and chicken in this area behind the lower hills, and we found this by a watering hole wandering around," Johana answers.

The person hisses, her hair that was coiled neatly into a bun now sticking out in wild disarray. She is wearing thick foundation on her face which is shades darker than her neck, and her jet black eyeshadow is generously spilled beyond her eyelids and all over the area under her eyes. Her lipstick is metallic gray to compliment her raccoon eyes, smeared carelessly from the corner of her lips due to a scuffle when she was seized. There are large tears and scratches on her skin-tight suit and wounds on her forehead and cheeks that need to be tended to.

"Unhand me! I am warning you, I can send a thousand hovercrafts down here and have you caged, and you will be punished and exterminated under Paylor's command!" She growls but at the same time she is trying to compose herself. "…By the name of the Capitol!"

Peeta yawns before taking a big step forward, testing how close he could get. "That is nice. What is your name?," he asks slowly.

As a response, the woman shrieks in frustration at Peeta's face and she continues to wrestle with Johana who is insistent on keeping her still.

Peeta wrinkles his nose as he pulls back, intrigued by a strong smell of perfume. A low growling sound reverberates from behind an oak tree and Delly and Annie step in to join the crowd, wide-eyed and giggling. Everyone coos as they watch Delly handle a frightened winged mutt rather gently, hesitant to walk forward with her.

"She came with a pet too!" Delly says gleefully. "It doesn't bite at all."

Gale takes over the mutt and examines it, noting the several chips of metal protruding from its skin. He also notices it is not scared of the flames of his torch. The mutt purrs enthusiastically.

Annie keeps a good grip over her spear and is careful to cross her arms in front of her. She fidgets and breathes deeply, eager to say something but is too uncomfortable. Peeta nods at her as an encouragement to talk.

"I think we should let them go. She's a Capitolian. She'll bring trouble," Annie says, hushed, as if she meant it only for Peeta to hear. He takes it into consideration but he has other things in mind.

Delly picks a rotting wild fruit and offers it to the mutt, nearly hesitating as the mutt lunges forward at her but aims for the fruit with its mouth. The mutt eats it gracefully while staring at Delly dead in the eyes.

"What a good pet," Peeta runs a hand along the mutt's elongated neck.

The woman is enraged and she fights back Johana even harder. As soon as she settles down she glares at Peeta. "Leave it alone! It doesn't eat just random things. It eats only Capitol fruits."

"I bet you my spear that our fruits down here are better than your fake ones up there," Peeta smirks, eyeing a pear on his left and picking it out from the tree.

Gale does not hide how tired he is and suggests retrieving back to the caves and call it a day. He assigns Peeta to take the mutt with Delly and Enobaria while he saunters towards Johana, Annie and their captive.

Gale takes the woman by the arm and she continues to thrash around, trying to break free from the rope that is binding her wrists in front of her. Peeta begins to march on, taking the lead and breaking branches that are hanging low so he could clear the way for the women and the mutt. Annie and Johana surround the captive and both look at Gale quizzically.

Gale calls out to Peeta before he disappears in the thick of the woods.

"What do I do with her?" he asks.

Peeta turns his head in an angle to look at him over his shoulder, taking a bite out of the pear.

"You can start with getting all those layers of makeup off her face."

* * *

Peeta slowly pokes his head into the bright room, smiling when he is acknowledged by the old woman.

He walks in with a steaming cup of tea and a bowl of sliced fruits, and sets them on a leveled rock surface. Aurora is too absorbed with sewing her dress to notice her afternoon snack.

"Hello grandson. How was your day today?" she asks warmly as she glances up at him.

"Gale and I didn't catch anything. We came very close to closing in on a deer," he pauses and looks sheepish, gesturing at the bowl of fruit. "So we picked fruits instead."

"Oh you know pears and peaches are my favourite!" Aurora is overjoyed, placing her battered old dress on her lap and reaches for the bowl.

"Believe me I know," he chuckles.

"Do you remember the peach trees in your mother's backyard? You used to sit there all afternoon and read books while eating fruits."

They have had this exact conversation multiple times before. He is hit with quick pang of sadness as he realizes that her memory has gotten a notch worse, finding himself falling into the same loops of conversation with the same dialogue and same conclusion.

"I remember, grandma," he lies. He gives time to let her reminisce about a distant past, the one that she thinks he was a part of. He tells her once again to stop working on the dress and allow her hands to rest.

They are interrupted by Delly by the doorway, looking mildly alarmed and bothered.

She drags him out of the cave and takes him to the river where everyone seems to have gathered around the rocky shore, murmuring amongst themselves. Peeta has to fight his way through the crowd, almost nervous about the racket.

The looks that he receives from people as soon as they notice him approaching further unnerve him. They skitter away to give him space and the noise is gradually toned down as he stops and is faced with Gale's back. Gale turns around and doesn't quite know how to start.

"What's going on here? Where's the captive?" Peeta asks impatiently.

Gale takes a deep breath and just stares at Peeta, slowly moving back to let him through.

Peeta's face slightly sours, staring back at Gale with intensity before he pushes him off by the shoulder. Peeta takes his feet across the smooth stones, until the stones reduce to pebbles. Soon, he is stepping on very shallow water, all the way to the biggest boulder of the shore where a woman with long wavy brown hair, face now devoid of makeup, and body wrapped in thin blanket from one of the groundfolks. Her suit is mostly ruined, folded in a neat pile on another piece of rock.

A few strands of wet hair are sticking to her face and her wounds are notably cleaned, topped with home-made medicinal ointment consisting of crushed plants and buds.

She looks on-guard and distressed, hugging herself from the cold, restraining her anger from being captured. She has not moved an inch while sitting on the boulder.

Peeta sifts through his mind, relying on his torn memory for something to trigger recognition. He turns back around to look blankly at Gale and the rest of the group.

"Can someone just fill me in?"

Gale subconsciously takes a step forward and clears his throat. "It's Katniss."

This emits a reserved cheer from the group, full of awe and wonder and disbelief. To them, Katniss was a ghost who has been missing since the mutt attack. Annie has her hands clasped together over her chest, in a dreamy trance, smiling at the two of them. Delly nudges her when a single tear rolls down her eye.

Peeta doesn't bat an eyelash.

"You two knew each other very well, back in the day, way before the war," Enobaria speaks out.

Peeta's and Katniss' eyebrows shoot up, gaping at Enobaria and then at each other. Seconds tick away and Peeta is bored, blowing out air through pursed lips.

"I don't know. I have no idea who this banshee is," he confesses.

"Well that works out perfectly because I am not aware of any affiliation with this…" Katniss croaks mid-sentence because she is losing her voice from all the screaming earlier.

"Try me," Peeta challenges, sporting a half-smile.

"…this…this degenerate!"

Everyone jerks back with their ooohs and aahhhs, suddenly entertained by what is unfolding in front of them.

"Your big fancy words hurt, pumpkin."

Katniss shakes her head. "I reject the term of endearment you are utilizing on me."

Peeta maintains the small smile on his lips, extending his patience a little bit more while echoes of chuckles drift around the river.

"Nobody likes a dictionary geek around here," he suggests.

"Oh. I'm surprised you know what a dictionary is," Katniss is on a roll and steely-eyed. Some of Peeta's friends are now encouraging him to whip up a good comeback. He turns around, not a trace of amusement on his face.

Gale remains idle on his spot, crossing his arms in front of him. He is uncharacteristically silent and is the only one in the group who is not showing a hint of reaction.

Peeta looks like he is about to lose it as he dismisses the situation with a wave of hand in the air.

"That's it. I can't stand her anymore," he blurts out, and at this point, everyone does not know what to make of what is transpiring. "If you have a boyfriend up there, I feel sorry for his sorry-ass," he adds.

He studies Katniss who seems triumphant according to herself, staring back at Peeta as she begins to stand up from the boulder and steps down on shallow water, keeping the blanket secure around herself.

"Careful, Peeta," Enobaria warns him, curt and simple.

Peeta pays full attention to what she has to say because he knows that she doesn't talk much, and when she does; her words are meaningful and logic-driven. He has always looked up to her like an older sister.

In between wanting to kick Katniss out of the base and wanting to keep her out of curiosity, his mood turns serious. He looks at the faces in the group for an answer. "So, in all honesty, what exactly were we to each other?"

* * *

**A/N: As much as I didn't want to, I had to create new characters. Because Suzanne annihilated pretty much everybody in Mockingjay.**


End file.
